I've grown up with these gorgeous fish my whole life, but now I'm looking to try something new. I'm moving into my own apartment and I want to start a little sorority with 3-5 bettas, but I'm so nervous about how they will interact! Even after having read all of the success stories on this site I am still nervous that the new girls wont get along with each other or the girl that I already have...HELP! How can I make the adjustment as easy and painless as possible on the girls? The tank is 16 gallons and has 4 corys and a few ghost shrimp in at already.

The more plants and decorations the better.... that is KEY
Having sisters from the same spawn usually helps.... but you can use unrelated girls

Knowing the girls!!! thats a key!
You want to release the least aggressive (the most mellow) girl first, wait a fw minutes then release everyone else in twos (since Im guessing you only have two hands, lol)
Keep an eye on them.... chasing is okay... a bit of biting or fighting is okay.... but if you see two girls full on out fighting (you can tell, they really go after each other) seperate them (I used my hand to block them)
If they kep going seperate one (the more aggressive of the two)
There will be a few nipped fins

for your tanks, 5 would be best as it will spread aggression better

I found it easier that I floated all 7 of my girls in plastic cups (so they could see each other) for a few days and fed them a small amount right before releasing them (mid-day snack)

Here are ALL of my girls during feeding

Ender and Merle are sisters
Dragon, Peanut, Eurydice, and Omen are sisters
and Anchovy is my "third- wheel"... a sympathy Walmart purchase that turned into an AWESOME sorority girl

since no one has mentioned it yet, the more females the better. 3 is too few, and 4 isn't recommended. in a 16 gallon the max (from what I've been told) is 8. the more girls you have, the less any one girl is picked on....also, plenty of floating plants, caves, and tall decor so that the girls on't have a constant view of each other ( that bothers them and can cause fights)

You need to have alot of plants for girls to hide. Also add some API Stress Conditioner to the water, it will calm the girls. The first couple days they will pick on each other to establish a pecking order, but that's OK. If it doesn't tone down after a few days remove the problem female, and re-introduce her later. It may be that she just can't safely interact with the other girls and that you have to permanantly remove her.

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